Phoenix Lands Fortune 1000 Company HQ

Carlisle Cos. Inc., now based in Charlotte, is moving more than 120 C-level, executive and management positions into Kierland One, 16430 N. Scottsdale Road in Phoenix.

Carlisle, a company Yahoo Finance and analysts at BMO Capital Markets both peg as $5.5B global manufacturer of varied products, has five divisions located around the U.S. By December this year, company operations and leadership will be located in a nearly 50KSF fourth-floor headquarters suite.

Becoming involved in the community is something Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton points to as a reason landing a company HQ move is critical.

Chris Camacho, President and CEO of Greater Phoenix Economic Council, pulled together the business case and led the effort with Executive Vice President Chris Petroff.

As part of the relocation, Carlisle will be able to apply for an Arizona Competes Fund grant. The terms still are being negotiated. The Competes Fund is used to equalize the ROI between Arizona and competing markets.

The Arizona Commerce Authority, which manages the fund, has little used any of the $75M accumulated in its war chest because of Arizona’s cost competitiveness. Last year, the governor swept surplus funds into the state’s general fund budget.

How AZ landed the relocation deal

From the first introduction to inking the deal to land Carlisle Cos Inc.’s headquarters, Arizona economic developers took less than 120 days.

“I remember the call, said Todd Sanders, president and CEO of Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. “Chris Koch (Carlisle’s president and CEO) called to ask about locating a business in Phoenix. He was very high on how the market aligned with his strategy.”

That was September 2015.

Sanders forwarded the deal to GPEC, where Chris Petroff was given the assignment to make it happen. Arizona Commerce Authority was brought into the mix and the Carlisle recruitment became known as Project Fluid.

Carlisle wanted written commitments they could be open in August, less than one year from the first contact. A typical deal takes between 6 and 24 months to complete.

Sanders said he was under the impression that Koch had a short list of other markets, but Phoenix was his first choice.

Among the attractions were the Valley’s proximity to Mexico and workforce. Residential real estate and school quality were also part of the mix, officials said.

When Carlisle looked at where its relocated staff likely would live it focused more on Paradise Valley, north Scottsdale and northeast Phoenix as likely home sites.

Carlisle will open its headquarters across the street from Kierland Commons and Scottsdale Quarter in August.